How far to pull a bend in handle bow?

[M2A]

I have to say the paint jobs on this one and your last bow are way cool. Good job!
Mike   

[tattoo dave]

Turned out really nice. I love the paint job. I usually do about an inch above center also, can't say I've ever measured it though.

Tattoo Dave

[MWirwicki]

I'm a huge fan of short bows.  Most of what I make are sinew backed.  Nevertheless, what I didn't notice being said in the thread is an expansion of the 90 degree string angle topic.  I'm only mentioning it because of the safety issue it presents.  When the string angle exceeds 90 degrees, there is a chance the string will slide off the nocks nearing full draw, especially when using a pin style nock.  Of course, you can imagine the catastrophe and possible injury this could present.  I turn the tips back slightly to give me a bit of an insurance policy against this happening.  The general rule of thumb for a bendy handle bow is that your max draw length will likely be half of the nock-to-nock length of the bow.  So for a 48" bow, you can expect a max draw of 24".  Nice work on your bow.  I especially like the artwork.  I wish I could paint like that.  If I did, I wouldn't need snake skins. 

[Philipp A]

I didn't see the finished product until now. I think you have done a fantastic job on this short bow. Everything including the art work looks great! You have made a lot of cool bows over the past few weeks, you must be working night shifts on it   

[NorthHeart]

Glad you guys like this bow! 

MWir-thanks for the advice regarding string angle and draw length.

Philipp, I have in fact been working on them almost every night.   Here at the lodge there is plenty of downtime, and not much else id rather be doing than learning to build each one a bit better than the last.  I appreciate everyone's generous help, this forum really is an asset and a great place to share our ideas and methods.